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H. F. KNAPP; Marine-Torpedo.

Patented July 1, 1879.,

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Specification fonm ing i'pantof- Lietters Patent N0. 21%";03 1, dalted'du ly .1, 1879; application *ii-"led April 6, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY F. KNAPP, of the city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inOfiensive Automatic Torpedoes, of which the following is aspecification.

This torpedo is designed'for passing under the guardnetting and boomsencircling a warship, and exploding beneath her bottom, and therebyrender futile any of the present modes or means for protecting a vesselfrom torpedoes. This object isaccomplished by the'explosive torpedosinking beneath the watersurface as soon as the apparatus touches thenetting, &c., and as soon as it has passed under the netting itimmediately rises with great speed and strikes directly under the shipsbottom and explodes, the passage of the netting being effected as itsinks and rises.

For fuller description I will explain by detail, reference being had tothe accompanying 7 connected by a light cord of some hundreds of feet inlength, so as to embrace a great sweep) against the booms or netting ofa ship, when sliding arms H, arranged with the arc of a circle, H, attheir outer ends, and also having vertical arms, to insure striking thebooms, &c., are made thereby to trip B, and the torpedo T sinks by itsown weight toward the bottom.

T represents an explosivetorpedo, to which is firmly attached anair-chamber, O, in which, again, is a compressedair chamber, 0, having astop-cock, K, which stop-cock is opened by a lever-rod, K, striking onthe bed-bottom when the torpedo sinks; or, if the water is of greatdepth, it is opened by a line attachment 7 raising the rod K, andthereby allows the K" in torpedo T, through which column also passes therod K.

By the air displacing the water in chamber 0 the apparatus becomesspecifically much lighter than water, and consequently immediately risesupward toward the surface with proportionate speed, and by the action ofthe current drifting it horizontally during its vertical movements itwill pass under the netting around a ship, and rise up under the shipsbottom, when rod F, arranged in air-tight tube F" of chamber 0, collideswith the ships bottom, and is made thereby to pierce percussion F of thetorpedo, which explodes at the most fatal part of the ship--viz.,directly under her bottom.

It is always best to operate this apparatus in pairs, tied together by astring having a sweep of several hundreds of feet, so that as they movedown with the current this string will be most certain to sweep againstthe an chor-cable of the ship, when the two torpedoes will graduallyswing in toward the sides of the ship, when, as before described, catchB is tripped, and the torpedo sinks until the slack is taken out of lineD, attached by one end to the float, and by the other end to the rod K,which thereby opens compressed-air cock K, and causes the torpedo toimmediately come toward the surface, 850. The drift of these floats mayto some extent be controlled by a line in certain cases; also,it mightbe possible in some cases to discard the float and carry the remainingpart of the apparatus on a boat-spar, self-propelling apparatus, 850.

W represents the water-line surface, and the connecting-line, when theapparatus is used in i and hang onto the netting which the apparatusstrikes. 7 I

The torpedo apparatus may be worked to advantage in some cases withoutthe float, by being sunk ordeposited on the bottom in a channel-way, andat the proper time the cock of -the compres'serhair chamber may beopened by pulling a line, by electricity, or simi lar means, and therebycause the torpedo to rise to the surface, as before described.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is- I 1. Amovable torpedo provided with air compartments, and a chamber ofcompressed 5. A float carrying a reel of line, in combination with anautomatic exploding apparatus, to which the other end of the line isattached, substantiallyas described.

6. The combination of float S, line D, lever K, and compressed-airchamber 0 with the torpedo, substantially as described.

HENRY F. KNAPP.

Witnesses:-

S. FRANK OROCKETT, S. N. SEVERANCE.

